Business Breeds More Business

Well, my deeper processing hasn't happened yet. I had intended to do all that yesterday, but the evening slipped by me rather quickly.

Here are some thoughts on Friday. The MN School Outreach Coalition (an coalition of organizations trying to make schools safer for GLBTQA Students), decided that the youth needed to get to know each other on a better level. They planned the "Q-Quest Youth Fest". It was open to students from across the state. In the end, they had to turn registrants away, because they couldn't get enough space and food. They had a total of 135 kids...way more than we ever thought possible.

I was not a part of the planning of the event, but I was very pleased. I asked if my youth group could have a table there. We spent all day at the booth. We talked to some kids. We connected with some adults. I think it was a fruitful day. We are getting to be known as a trustworthy organization. It's been fun to have the recognition.

I was impressed with how well the event went. It opened with a performance piece written and performed by kids. Of course, there were rough spots, but on the whole the piece was very well written and performed. It was also very well received by the crowd. It mainly outlined stories of these particular kids' lives. I think it's empowering to hear where different people come from. There is a way you can connect with someone else's story. By putting this broad range of kids up there, they were able to connect with some aspect of the whole story.

Here's my funny story of the day. My youth group is a faith-based youth group, so I decided that I could decorate the table with a candle. J was less certain that this was a good idea. I had the candle going for five minutes, when I was informed that candles are explicitly forbidden in the rules for the kids. However, the leader told me, I could probably get away with it. I didn't want to be doing something forbidden for the kids, so I blew out the candle and put it away. Just then, a group of girls walked by, and they started sniffing the air. "Do you smell a candle burning?" they kept asking one another. Then they would point to the floor in front of my table and say, "It smells like a candle RIGHT HERE." I just stayed quiet and shrunk back behind my table. They even called an adult leader over to investigate. I guess I was never implicated because I'm an adult, and an adult would never break the rules, right?

I was really proud of the organizers of the Q-Quest Youth Fest. I think it went very well. I hope it can be a regular event.

Next up: The wine and cheesecake social...